We've moved! Visit our new location at 1680 El Camino Real, corner of Roosevelt, just two blocks south of our old home! We've got parking, a more-open & spacious layout, no stairs and the same friendly staff you've come to know over the years. And as you can see, we've got bikes! A good selection of Electra Lofts & Cruisers, a fantastic selection of Trek e-bikes, and getting more higher-end mountain bikes every week. Road bikes are slowly trickling in but in very small numbers; nearly everything is sold before it hits the floor. Please plan on ordering ahead to get what you want. Most hybrids are months away but a few show up by surprise. Kids bikes for 3-8 year olds are in very good shape. Mountain bikes below $1300 are still a rare find. A $100 completely-refundable deposit reserves the next unsold bike for you!
Repairs (updated 5/6)- The news is not good. Our repair department is basically closed* to new business until sometime in August. Why? Many repair parts have become unavailable, 100s of bikes ordered for customer 6-12 months ago are finally showing up, and another shop went out of business. *Exceptions- flat tires and bikes with CRCARE (included with all bikes sold by us). Other than CRCARE, we won't be scheduling appointments until things settle. We recognize the severe inconvenience this places upon many of our customers. Covid-19 has bit us in the butt, hard.
If you need a major repair quickly, we note that Velofix, a mobile repair service, still has very short lead times (roughly two weeks, minimum $100). For road bikes $1500+, VelOro in Redwood City can take care of you pretty quickly too. He does not work on anything other than road bikes though, and only modern, more-expensive bikes.
Masks- Yes, many of us have been vaccinated by now! Still, masks are going to be with us for a while, a requirement for customers and employees. Inside our store your must must cover your nose and mouth at all times. You may not move your mask down to talk or keep your glasses from fogging up. Also no vented masks; in most cases vented masks are designed to allow for easier breathing by having a one-way valve that allows you to breathe out more easily. That defeats the purpose of protecting others from Covid-19. We take Covid-19 very seriously; if you don't, you may find some other shops more compatible. None of our staff members have yet been infected, which is really an amazing accomplishment. It's also in the "so far" category, as we realize we've also been lucky. Note that as of 5/1, we will no longer be disinfecting credit card machines prior to each transaction; it's quite clear that Covid-19 is an airborne contagion.
How and when to reach us- These are not normal times. When people are outside the store waiting to come in, the phone will not be answered. The priority will be to those who are already at or inside our store. If you can't get through, try calling back 30 minutes later or send an email to bikes@chainreaction.com and we'll do our best to get back to you later that day. Our busiest times are the first hour we're open, especially Mondays & Tuesdays. 3-4:30pm each day is another peak time on weekdays, and 2-4pm Saturdays.
Thank you from our staff, Kevin & Lexi & Becky & Don & Sonia & Rolando & Roger & Jose & Mike & Steve & Karen & River.
CLICK HERE FOR WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN COMING TO THE STORE-
(Revisited 03/17/21) PLEASE READ BEFORE CALLING OR COMING IN- We're serious about Covid 19 and require non-vented masks when you visit us. Much more useful information in the link.
(Updated 10/05/20) GETTING YOUR NEW BIKE- OUR SECRET WEAPON! Most everyone knows bikes are in short supply by now; KCBS even came by to do a news story featuring us. We have 1300 bikes on backorder right now. Just our single shop. 1300 bikes scheduled to arrive between now and June. We work with Trek daily, studying availability dates and creating a list that shows which bikes are coming in, and when. If anything's changed, Becky and Karen send emails with the updated status, often more than 50 in one session. Sometimes they get to make people really happy and tell them their new bike is coming in sooner than expected! And sometimes they have to deliver the bad news that delays at the port in Long Beach have added a week or two to the delivery time.
One thing is absolute. Once you place an order with Chain Reaction, nobody gets to cut in line in front of you, and, if someone changes to a different model, everyone else in line for that bike moves up one place. This means you never have to worry that a bike might come in that you want but somebody else snags it. You place an order, once, and we do the hard part.
